A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed

HOW ODD THAT MASSACRES MOSTLY HAPPEN IN "GUN-FREE ZONES"! When will the brain-dead Left wake up and draw the obvious conclusion? Gun bans kill kids

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Suit Against Gunmakers, for Criminal's actions at Sandy Hook, Dismissed

Attorney Josh Koskoff

Judge Barbara Bellis struck down the lawsuit filed by attorney Josh Koskoff, representing some of the families of the victims of Adam Lanza's attack at the Sand Hook School in Connecticut. The lawsuit was fired against gun manufacturers.

The Judge cited the PLCAA, Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, that forbids lawsuits of gun manufacturers, distributors, or sellers of lawful products that operate as they are designed to.

The purposes of the PLCAA are to expressly to prevent this sort of lawsuit, so as to insure that citizens shall have access to such firearms. From cornell.edu:

(b) Purposes The purposes of this chapter are as follows:

(1) To prohibit causes of action against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms or ammunition products, and their trade associations, for the harm solely caused by the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearm products or ammunition products by others when the product functioned as designed and intended.

(2) To preserve a citizen’s access to a supply of firearms and ammunition for all lawful purposes, including hunting, self-defense, collecting, and competitive or recreational shooting.

(3) To guarantee a citizen’s rights, privileges, and immunities, as applied to the States, under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, pursuant to section 5 of that Amendment.

(4) To prevent the use of such lawsuits to impose unreasonable burdens on interstate and foreign commerce.

(5) To protect the right, under the First Amendment to the Constitution, of manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms or ammunition products, and trade associations, to speak freely, to assemble peaceably, and to petition the Government for a redress of their grievances.

(6) To preserve and protect the Separation of Powers doctrine and important principles of federalism, State sovereignty and comity between sister States.

(7) To exercise congressional power under article IV, section 1 (the Full Faith and Credit Clause) of the United States Constitution.

Josh Koskoff is quoted as saying he will appeal the decision. From wtnh.com:

"While the families are obviously disappointed with the judge’s decision, this is not the end of the fight. We will appeal this decision immediately and continue our work to help prevent the next Sandy Hook from happening.”

The lawsuit may put dollars in Koskoffs pockets, and increase his notariety, but it is unlikely to do anything to prevent crime. As Constitutional scholar and law school professor at UCLA, Adam Winkler, has noted, "assault weapon" bans are bad policy and bad politics. From the latimes.com:

It may seem like a victory for the forces of good to ban assault
weapons, but such laws aren't the answer. Assault weapon bans are bad
policy and bad politics.

An appeal will continue to pile up attorney's fees and court costs. Under the PLCAA, plaintiffs who lose are liable to pay the court costs and legal fees of the defendants.

This is precisely the type of emotional, abusive case that the PLAA was
designed to prevent. The case has been dismissed, as predicted. The chances of a successful appeal are vanishingly small. The plaintiffs are likely to be on
the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in court costs and lawyers
fees.

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

That seems to be the problem with incompetent attorneys. You would think they are smart enough to research the facts of law, just to avoid the embarrassment. I'll bet he does not refuse payment for his wasted time. Oh sorry I lost a case that should never have been filed. I'm beginning to think the desire to become an attorney is a birth defect.

Background

“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” -- Thomas Jefferson

Syndicated columnist Charley Reese (1937-2013): "Gun control by definition affects only honest people. When a politician tells you he wants to forbid you from owning a firearm or force you to get a license, he is telling you he doesn’t trust you. That’s an insult. ... Gun control is not about guns or crime. It is about an elite that fears and despises the common people."

The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles -- Jeff Cooper (1920-2006)

Note for non-American readers: Crime reports from America which describe an offender just as a "teen" or "teenager" almost invariably mean a BLACK teenager.

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.

Two lines below of a famous hymn that would be incomprehensible to Leftists today ("honor"? "right"? "freedom?" Freedom to agree with them is the only freedom they believe in)

First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean

It is of course the hymn of the USMC -- still today the relentless warriors that they always were.

The intellectual Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) said: "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."

How much do you know about Trayvon Martin? Did you recognize him in the picture above? If not you may need to know more about him. It's all here (Backups here and here)

“An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” -- Robert A. Heinlein